Overseas health workers the answer

DA shadow health minister Patricia Kopane said the health department should work on improving its immigration policy, and work on the retention of workers to allow for more skilled labour within the sector.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi yesterday in Pretoria acknowledged one of the biggest problems the department is facing is a shortage in human resources.

“We are badly affected. We have decided to enter the battle robustly. Some of the shortag- es are truly self-inflicted, like in the North West where, after placing the department under Section 100 (1) (b), we found huge vacancies.

“This month we are going to fill 223 vacancies at the cost of R150 million,” Motsoaledi said.

Kopane said the DA welcomed any improvements to the health sector, which was failing South Africans, particularly the poor. But more needed to be done to deal with the shortage of staff.

She said one of the issues that need attention is immigration policies that are in place, which need to be improved to allow for more internationally trained skilled labour into the sector.

The current immigration policies make it difficult for foreign health professionals to write their examinations on time with the Health Professional Council of South Africa.

In some cases, it could take years to write the examinations, which is then followed by more difficulties with placements within the sector. Kopane said it is a political problem that needs to be corrected.

“Research says that 59% of our doctors are in the private sector. The government should work in partnership with the private sector.”